IU School to Sponsor PopCon
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana University School of Informatics at IUPUI has signed on as a sponsor for Indy PopCon. The agreement involves guest lecturers from the school hosting sessions on career opportunities in game development, computing and digital arts.
April 22, 2014
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — Pop Con LLC and IU School of Informatics and Computing (SOIC) at IUPUI have agreed to a sponsorship agreement to bring education to the forefront of the inaugural Indy PopCon convention, May 30 – June 1 of this year. Held in the Indiana Convention Center, PopCon will feature hundreds of exhibitors, artists, and game developers, and will present a series of workshops and panels aimed at enabling individuals to break into cutting edge industries such as game development, animation, digital design, comic book publishing and more.
The agreement, for the 2014 convention, will involve a series of hands-on workshops and panel discussions tentatively titled PopCon Academy. Guest lecturers from the school will provide several introductory sessions meant to give attendees a brief glimpse into various industries and educational tracks that students might be able to take in order to pursue a career in game development, computing, and digital arts.
For PopCon, the goal is to educate kids and fans, and also engage parents whose children have started to take an interest in video game programming, art, and comics. “Many of the fans who attend our shows are passionate and looking for ways to get into these exciting careers,” said Chase Kahlo, Programming Director for PopCon LLC.
“But our partnership with the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI, will allow us to educate the parents too, so they have a better idea of how to foster their child’s passions and prepare them for secondary education and eventually rewarding careers,” he added.
For the School, they look forward to the opportunity to educate others about informatics and computing, the future of technology, as well as the degree options and career paths. Leslie Payne, Communications Manager, was excited about the partnership, “Informatics and Computing focuses on the use of technology and how it affects the world around us, so PopCon seemed like an interesting opportunity. Several of the SOIC programs and courses include game development, design, digital art and human-computer interaction.”
“We saw this sponsorship as a way to educate children, parents, and others about how gaming can be used not only for entertainment, but in other ways, like in education and health care, where it benefits the community and the people that live within. In addition, we have several current students and grads that have been selected as special guest artists and game developers to be part of the convention. This was an all-around fit, not only for the school in general, but also for the students who are taking what they have learned and applying it to the real world,” she said.
About IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI
The Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing was established in 2000 as one of the first schools in the nation dedicated to education and research in informatics. Informatics uniquely integrates computing, social science and information systems design to study how we use technology to communicate, work and engage. That knowledge is then applied to develop innovative IT solutions impacting our communities, science, healthcare, entertainment, law and business. The IU School of Informatics and Computing is located on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and offers an array of certificate, B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. programs. For additional information, please visit soic.iupui.edu , or call (317) 278-4636
About Indy PopCon
Indy PopCon is a comic and popular culture convention coming to the Indiana Convention Center the weekend after Memorial Day weekend, May 30 – June 1, 2014. The convention has reserved over 200,000 square feet for an estimated crowd of 15,000 attendees and 400 artists and exhibitors over the 3-day convention. Celebrity guests, renowned comic artists, and media personalities will be coming to Indianapolis to sign autographs, interact with fans, and take in the city.
Source: Indy PopCon